1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to systems and methods for promoting the safety of health care workers and/or other persons by identifying and ensuring that the workers are wearing appropriate garments such as medical gowns, gloves and/or headwear when attending to selected patients.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Various pathogens are present within the hospital environment. These “superbugs” present a hazard to the patients residing within. CDC estimates hospital acquired infections account for two million inpatient infections a year with over 100,000 associated deaths at costs exceeding thirty billion dollars. Routine contact with numerous patients by their caregivers provides a robust opportunity to transfer these hospital “bugs” between patients. There have been numerous outbreaks of contagious superbug pathogens affecting large communities of hospital patients. These pathogens include Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile (C diff). Patients found to be harboring such diseases are typically referred to isolation rooms requiring the donning of protective gowns and gloves by anyone desiring entry into the affected patient's room. Alternately, those patients with compromised immune system due to disease or medical intervention require a similarly isolated sterile environment requiring all attending caregivers to be appropriately gowned and gloved.
Various identification systems have been developed for detecting human forms in general or specific individuals. One such system, as disclosed in US Pub. No. 2008/0298687 (incorporated by reference herein), detects human form and determines whether the detected person is allowed to pass into a selected area. U.S. Pat. No. 7,519,200, also incorporated by reference herein, provides a system for recognizing persons based on facial recognition, clothing and/or text. U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,429 discloses a surveillance system that distinguishes between human and non-human forms so that detection of the latter does not signal an intrusion. Systems have also been developed for tracking people in health care facilities. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,612,666 and 6,727,818 disclose two such systems.